Restaurant: Curry Champ

Curry may have started out in India hundreds of years ago. It certainly traveled throughout Asia, stopping at Sri Lanka, Indonesia, Thailand and Vietnam, where regional flavors were created. But when this cuisine finally reached Japan in the 1950s, it underwent a metamorphosis as the Japanese endeavored to develop new flavors catering specifically to their own habits and tastes. The result was restaurants specializing in curry cuisine, a big food industry producing pre-made curry sauces and even the institution of Curry Day, when school students all have curry for lunch.

Shih Yeh (欣葉), the 25-year-old restaurant group behind Curry Champ was originally just a single restaurant in Taipei's Combat Zone. In recent years, it has expanded its business to Japanese cuisine, and most recently, to Japanese-style curry.

The curry at Curry Champ is notable for its rich and smooth texture. The reason: the large quantities of onion, fruit and vegetables used to make the sauce. Chef Motoe Doi, who has been brought in from Japan to help establish the restaurant, has 45 years of experience making curry. His emphasis is on the quality of ingredients and on the cooking process.

The onions, which form the base of the sauce, are 11-month-old bulbs from Ilan. They are cooked to a puree and then combined with dill, cumin, clove, tarragon, thyme, pepper, chili and many other spices. The puree is cooked with apples, carrots, celery, tomato and bananas, to which a chicken broth is added. With such "fruitful" ingredients, there is no need for any artificial flavorings.

A set menu includes a small pot of curry, a plate of rice topped with almond chips, a small plate of pickles as well as soup, salad and dessert. It may look small and simple, but it's a substantial meal. According to Doi, exact proportions should be observed between rice and curry to ensure a satisfying meal. And as for the rice itself, each grain should be slightly chewy.

Passion curry, one of Curry Champ's original recipes, has a straightforward flavor. It has a slightly sour taste from the homemade yogurt that is added. Opium curry, also a Curry Champ original, has a more subtle flavor, so that it tastes sweet in the mouth, but has a bite that comes later. The effect is created by the use of chocolate sauce in the gravy. With each flavor of sauce there is a choice of beef, chicken, vegetable or seafood. You can also ask staff to adjust the spiciness to your taste.

Another recommendation is the seafood grill curry. The rice is first stir-fried in curry sauce and placed in layers with shrimp, scallops, big clams, and then grilled with Mozzarella cheese. This unusual combination is surprisingly tasty.